


Summoning Christopher

by beautiful_fiscal_siren



Category: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: F/M, That's it, just fluff, post-Conrad's Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautiful_fiscal_siren/pseuds/beautiful_fiscal_siren
Summary: Christopher is overly worried when Millie goes off to her new boarding school, so he takes matters into his own hands. Occurs right after Conrad's Fate.
Relationships: Christopher Chant/Millie
Kudos: 22





	Summoning Christopher

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this quite a while ago and just re-discovered it when looking through my fics. Enjoy!

Christopher was highly concerned for Millie when she went off to her new school. Gabriel claimed he had inspected it thoroughly and that it was much better than her first school, but then again Gabriel had also not believed Millie when she told him her first school was terrible, and as a result she had run away and gotten herself into serious danger. Christopher was determined to make sure Millie did not have cause to run away a second time—he would keep an eye on her and alert Gabriel at the first sign of trouble with this new school. 

The problem was, it was difficult to keep in touch with Millie once she had left for school. She only wrote Christopher two or three times a week, and of course those letters didn’t arrive until days later, so he really had no way of knowing if she was doing well. If she was in serious danger, of course, she could summon Chrestomanci, but Christopher was more worried about the lesser troubles—bullies and horrible teachers and illness and loneliness. Enchanters weren’t immune to those things, no matter how powerful.

However, the thought of Millie being able to summon Chrestomanci the moment she needed him—this gave Christopher an idea. One evening about two weeks after Millie had gone, Christopher, sick of fretting and waiting for letters and  _ not knowing _ , hid away in his bedroom after dinner and devised a neat little enchantment. It was not actually all that difficult, seeing as he knew Millie very well—he could have picked her magic out of a lineup even if he was blind and deaf. He just needed to focus on that magic, Millie’s magic, and set the summons. It was done in about a minute, and Christopher was rather proud of himself. He would still have to wait quite a while to see if it worked perfectly, though, since he would have to write to Millie and tell her how to— 

_ Fwoosh. _

Christopher felt himself yanked sideways very hard. His feet left the ground for no more than an instant, but he was very surprised and almost fell over. As he steadied himself, he heard several screams from close by. 

“ _ Christopher?”  _ shrieked a familiar voice. 

Christopher got his bearings. All around him were strange girls seated on beds, cushions, and armchairs, staring at him in horror. He realized at once what had happened and turned slowly, eyes wide, until he found— 

“Millie!” said Christopher, trying to smile reassuringly. 

The girls around him started whispering and giggling to each other. Millie looked, if possible, even more horrified than the other girls. “What are you  _ doing  _ here?” she cried. 

“Ah,” Christopher began, “you see—”

But Millie wasn’t waiting there for an answer. She grabbed Christopher’s wrist and pulled him out of the dormitory and, checking over her shoulder cautiously, into a broom cupboard at the end of the hall.

She slammed the door behind them and clicked on the single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. “ _ What  _ are you  _ doing  _ here?” she asked again, exasperated.

Christopher tried another smile, his most charming one.  “I’m glad to see you,” he said. “How’ve you been?”

Millie sighed, covered her eyes with one hand, then burst out laughing. 

“What?” she said, catching her breath. “What have you done now?”

Christopher refused to act sheepish. This was a pure coincidence; he hadn’t done anything wrong. “I made a summoning charm for you,” he said. “To summon me with. I got the idea from Gabriel, really, the way anyone can summon him just by saying—well, by saying his title three times? I set it up so that if you say my name, I’m summoned to wherever you are. Only, obviously I didn’t get a chance to write you and tell you about it yet, and obviously…” he trailed off.

“I was just telling my mates about where I lived!” said Millie defensively. “It wasn’t even anything about you, really, but you  _ are  _ part of the castle, so how am I supposed to keep from saying your name when I’m talking to them? Honestly, Christopher, it’s—” Christopher stumbled into the shelves. “—See? It’s a bit of a nuisance. I need to be able to say your name normally.”

Christopher considered this. She had a point. “What about saying my name three times, just like—like Gabriel?” he suggested.

Millie chewed on her lip for a moment. “I don’t think that’ll work,” she said. “What if I’m telling a story about you and your name comes up three times? I’d always have to be counting.”

Christopher truly tried not to grin, but he failed. “Stories about me? What kind of stories?”

Millie glared. “Forget it. Undo the enchantment.”

“No no,” said Christopher quickly. “How about…” 

It was quiet for a minute as he thought.

Millie sighed. “How about...’Christopher, I need you’?”

Christopher stared at her. He blinked. He tried to pull himself together. “S-sure, that’ll work. All right. Uh, just give me a second.” He closed his eyes, located the enchantment, and made the change. “Done.”

Millie nodded. “Okay… Thanks. You know I could just summon you myself, right?”

“Well, you  _ could, _ but what if something happened to your magic or you were too exhausted or—“

Millie smiled knowingly. “Of course. This is better.”

“Yeah… So, uh, how’ve you been?” Christopher asked, putting his hands in his pockets. 

Millie rolled her eyes. “I’ve been good, Christopher. Truly. You don’t have to worry about me. I get on well with almost all the girls here, and it’s a good school. I’ve learned more in two weeks here than I did in months at the last place.”

This did make Christopher feel a little better. “Good,” he said. “That’s good. When’s your spring holiday?”

Millie laughed. “Not for another six weeks.”

_ That  _ did not make Christopher feel better at all. His chest actually felt a little tight. But all the same, he nodded and said, “Well, keep writing. Let me know how it’s going and… and I’ll write, too. And if you ever need anything at all—”

Millie stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “I’ll call for you.”

She turned and walked out of the broom cupboard, leaving Christopher to stare after her.


End file.
